DBQ4

This question is based on the accompanying documents (1-12). The question is designed to test your ability to work with historical documents. Some of the documents have been edited for the purposes of this question. As you analyze the documents, take into account both the source of each document and any point of view that may be presented in the document.

Historical Context: In the two decades following the American Revolution, Salem's sailing ships returned from China and "East India" (India, Indochina, and the Malay Archipelago) with tea and spices, silks and porcelain, ivory and gold dust. "Boston was the Spain, Salem the Portugal, in the race for Oriental opulence," wrote historian Samuel Eliot Morison in 1921. Salem's hugely profitable trade with China and the Indies transformed the New England seaport into a global powerhouse and, by the early 1800s, the wealthiest city per capita in the United States.

Task: Using information from the documents and your knowledge of United States history, answer the questions that follow each document in Part A. Your answers to the questions will help you write the essay in Part B, in which you will be asked to: It is said that the Indies/China trade not only put "Salem on the world map," but also gave Salem its style and character.

Describe the style and character of Salem.
Explain how the Indies/China trade shaped Salem.

Part A: Short-Answer Questions

Directions: Analyze the documents and answer the short-answer questions that follow each document in the space provided.

Document #1
Salem City Seal Motto
Divitis Indiae usque ad ultimum Sinum : "To the Farthest Port of the Rich East"

What does this motto suggest about Salem?

Document #2
Diary of William Bentley
[May] 31 [1790]. My good friend Capt. Hodges presented to me a Pike or Spear of Wood, with a Bow & two Arrows brought by the American Ship Columbia from Nootka Sound to Canton, & Specimens of cloth from Sandwich Islands...
June 1 [1790]. In addition to my former presents Capt. Hodges presented me with a large Sandwich Cloth, a Chinese permit to enter & trade at their Port of Canton, & several Coins....
[June] 5 [1790]. ...Capt. Hodges presented to me an Image of a Mandarin exceeding two feet in height, richly ornamented in the habit of his order. The head & right hand move but not gracefully. But inspiring the idea of life, they have left the idea of a most painful & extensive infirmity. Below the breast reaching to the knees is the form of an apron, red with dragon, & other bright figures. The Gown is a deep and fine blue...Capt. H. Elkins arrived in Nichols & has brought a variety of curiosities, which he has delivered to me this evening. From Diary of William Bentley, D.D ., vol. 1 (Gloucester, Mass: Peter Smith, 1962)

How do these diary entries reflect the influence of world trade on a Salem citizen?

Document #3
Salem Gazette (5 August 1796)
A ship of 300 tons was launched on Crane River. The ship belongs to Mr. William Gray. The day was remarkably fine and the surrounding country beautiful. The high banks of the river were crowded with spectators while a little fleet of boats displaying their companies of lovely females in the dress which replied to the rich colors of the ship, and welcoming her in her majestic descent to the element in which she is to live, gave the highest pleasure to this entertaining and joyful scene.

Why might the launching of a ship be an occasion for celebration?

Document #4
Diary of William Bentley
[August] 30 [1797]. Went to the Market House to see the Elephant. The crowd of spectators forbad me any but a general & superficial view of him. He was six feet, four inches high. Of large Volume, his skin black, as tho' lately oiled. A short hair was on every part, but not, sufficient for a covering. His tail hung one third of his height, but without any long hairs at the end of it. His legs were still at command at the joints, but he could not be persuaded to lie down. The Keeper repeatedly mounted him but he persisted in shaking him off. Bread & Hay were given him and he took bread out of the pockets of the Spectators. He also drank porter & drew the cork, conveying the liquor from his trunk into his throat. His Tusks were just to be seen beyond the flesh, & it was said had been broken. We say his because the common language. It is a female & teats appeared just behind the forelegs.
From Diary of William Bentley, D.D ., vol. 2 (Gloucester, Mass: Peter Smith, 1962)

Why might the exhibit of an elephant draw a crowd in 1797?
What does an elephant have to do with world trade and the shaping of Salem's character?

Document #5
Letter of Mary Boardman Crowninshield to her husband (19 May 1815)
We are just preparing for a most agreeable jaunt down to the wharf to see the prise goods...Well here I am returned and have been much gratified I wish I could tell you what I have seen in the first place the most elegant ladies clothing perhaps two dozen gowns trim'd in the most superb style mostly muslin with Brussels lace perhaps 10s per yard some crepe silk etc in the box, with I suppose the married ladies dresses as they were much larger was most elegant infants clothes...--some of the books most elegantly bound & some very common one elegant looking glass but not very large just the thing for our setting room elegant pictures landscapes in colours...chintzes very beautiful table linens...I have not told half the last thing we saw was a carpet painted canvers in turkey pattern I think it might fit our room 16 feet by 22 It has a border--But there was a larger one and handsomer that we could not see...the Jewelry very handsome...I am determined to gratify myself with some of the dresses to shine out in Washington next winter...I wish you could have been with me to HAVE SEEN THESE PRETTY THINGS ...my head is so full of pritty things I hardly know what I write the girls went with me but were disappointed in not getting a doll as they had heard there was a box full but they had only seen one and could not find that, but saw some pretty toys a box of painted brick for the children to build houses with to learn them to be masons... From "Some Letters of Mary Boardman Crowninshield," Essex Institute Historical Collections

What do the "prise goods" recently brought into port suggest about how Salem homes might have been furnished and how Salemites might have dressed?
Do you think most Salemites could have purchased as freely as Mary Boardman Crowninshield? Why or why not?

Document #6
Diary of William Bentley
[December] 19 [1817]. ...The nature of our India trade gives Salem the appearance of a place of great business when our India ships are at home, but when they are out it is a place of great silence & with little employment for day labourers. We have above 50 Vessels abroad in the India trade...Our Vessels have high reputation. One built in the last season for a packet & sold after one voyage called the Palladium, obtained at Boston the high price of 21,150 dollars...Our ship carpenters have never been rich but have generally continued long in their employment so that more than one generation have had the benefit of their labourers & the reputation & punctuality have given a value to their experience. Diary of William Bentley, D.D ., vol. 4 (Gloucester, Mass: Peter Smith, 1962)

What does Bentley's characterization of Salem suggest about the class divisions in the town?

Document #7
Diary of William Bentley
May 27, 1819. Several of our friends have lately returned from Siam. Voyages have been made before, but the enterprising spirit of our Countrymen will search everywhere for commerce. They are cautious in relating their first adventures, as Commerce they think overdone by the many who embark to every port in which voyage are successful. From the South Sea I had this day a tooth of the Spermaceti Whale, & the eyes of the squid. From Siam, the mandible of the Pelican & from Africa, the horn of the Unicorn Rhinoceros. From Diary of William Bentley, D.D ., vol. 4 (Gloucester, Mass: Peter Smith, 1962)

What is "the enterprising spirit of our Countrymen" that Bentley mentions?
Why does Bentley note his receipt of animal parts?

Document #8
"Colorful Foreigners On Salem Streets"
I wonder what a girl of the present day would think, if in walking down Essex Street some bright morning, she should meet a snow-white Arabian Stallion, gaily caparisoned, and led by an Arab groom in picturesque costume! And yet when this happened to me, so permeated was the town with the spirit of the East, that although I was filled with delight and admiration, it did not seem an incongruous or astonishing sight. He was a noble creature sent as a gift to one of our Salem merchants, by the Sultan of Muscat. ...When I was young the foreign element in Salem was not, as it is now, largely Irish and French. A Lascar or East Indian might sometimes be met on the street, or dark-browed Spanish boys who were often sent from the West Indies or South America, in charge of some sea captain or merchant, to be educated at the Salem schools. These handsome Spaniards, with their grave courteous manners and graceful dancing, were always welcomed at the dancing schools of the day, and proud was the girl whom one of these dark-eyed foreigners selected as his partner.
From: King, Caroline Howard. When I Lived in Salem, 1822-1866 . Brattleboro, VT: Stephen Daye Press, 1937. 36-38

How does Caroline Howard King's description of Salem compare/contrast to those of Rev. Bentley?

Document #9
Harriet Martineau, 1834
Salem, Mass., is a remarkable place. This "city of peace" will be better known hereafter for its commerce than for its witch tragedy. It has a population of fourteen thousand and more wealth in proportion to its population than perhaps any town in the world...These enterprising merchants...speak of Fayal and the Azores as if they were close at hand. The fruits of the Mediterranean are on every table. They have a large acquaintance at Cairo. They know Napoleon's grave at St. Helena, and have wild tales to tell of Mozambique and Madagascar, and stores of ivory to show from there...They often slip up from the western coast of their two continents, brings furs from the back regions of their own wide land, glance up at the Andes on their return; double Cape Horn, touch at the port of Brazil and Guiana, look about them in the West Indies, feeling almost at home there, and land some fair morning in Salem and walk home as if they had done nothing remarkable."
Quoted in Maritime Salem in the Age of Sail National Park Service, 128.

Based on Martineau's description, how would you characterize Salem's "enterprising merchants"?

Document #10
Sir Charles Lyell, A Second Visit to the United States of North America (New York, Harper & Brothers, 1849).
Nov. 6.--Made an excursion to the seaport of Salem, about fourteen miles to the N.E. of Boston, a place of 17,000 inhabitants. Dr. Wheatland, a young physician, to whom I had gone without letters of introduction, politely showed us over the Museum of Natural History, of which he was curator; and over another full of articles illustrative of the arts, manners, and customs of the East Indies, China, and Japan; for this city is a great resort of retired merchants and sea-captains. In both collections there are a variety of objects which may appear, on a hasty view, to form a heterogeneous and unmeaning jumble, but which are really curious and valuable. Such repositories ought to accompany public libraries in every large city, for they afford a kind of instruction which can not be obtained from books. To public lectures, which are much encouraged here, and are effective means of stimulating the minds of all classes, especially the middle and lower, they furnish essential aid.... Many curious log-books of the early sea-captains of this port, who ventured in extreme ignorance of geography on distant voyages, are preserved here, and attest the daring spirit of those hardy navigators...

According to Sir Lyell, how did the voyages of Salem sea captains earlier in the century benefit everyone in the town?

Document #11
An excerpt from a poem

Ah me, how many an autumn day We watched with palpitating breast, Some stately ship, from India or Cathay, Laden with spicy odors from the East, Come sailing up the bay!

From: Ping Chi Kuo, "Canton and Salem: The Impact of Chinese Culture upon New England Life during the Post-Revolutionary Era," New England Quarterly 3 (July 1930): 420-442.

How does this poem reflect the notion that Salem was shaped by her world trade encounters?

Document #12
Customs Duties and Foreign Entries at Salem By Decades After 1789 As you analyze the chart, remember to take into account the Embargo and the War of 1812.

Years	Duties	Entries from Foreign Ports
1789-1791	$108,064.48	205
1791-1800	$2,949,817.19	1508
1801-1810	$7,272,633.31	1758
1811-1820	$3,832,894.81	835
1821-1830	$4,685,139.58	1226
1831-1840	$1,987,509.12	903

How did the duties and number of entries from foreign ports change over time?
How do you think these changes might have been reflected in Salem's character?

Part B: Essay

Directions:
Write a well-organized essay that includes an introduction, several paragraphs, and a conclusion. Use evidence from at least five documents in the body of the essay. Support your response with relevant facts, examples, and details. Include additional outside information.

Historical Context: In the two decades following the American Revolution, Salem's sailing ships returned from China and "East India" (India, Indochina, and the Malay Archipelago) with tea and spices, silks and porcelain, ivory and gold dust. "Boston was the Spain, Salem the Portugal, in the race for Oriental opulence," wrote historian Samuel Eliot Morison in 1921. Salem's hugely profitable trade with China and the Indies transformed the New England seaport into a global powerhouse and, by the early 1800s, the wealthiest city per capita in the United States.

Task: Using information from the documents and your knowledge of United States history, answer the questions that follow each document in Part A. Your answers to the questions will help you write the essay in Part B, in which you will be asked to: It is said that the Indies/China trade not only put "Salem on the world map," but also gave Salem its style and character.

Describe the style and character of Salem.
Explain how the Indies/China trade shaped Salem.

Guidelines:
In your essay, be sure to:

Address all aspects of the Task by accurately analyzing and interpreting at least five documents.
Incorporate information from the documents in the body of the essay.
Incorporate relevant outside information.
Support the theme with relevant facts, examples, and details. Use a logical and clear plan of organization.
Introduce the theme by establishing a framework that is beyond a simple restatement of the Task or Historical Context and conclude with a summation of the theme.